Man of the match in the second test, Ravichandran Ashwin has slammed the former England captain Michael Vaughan for criticizing the Chepauk stadium pitch. Vaughan had called the second test pitch of the Chepauk 'poor' and also hinted that England tried to give a balanced pitch whenever team India visited for the tour. The criticism of Vaughan earned him a lot of flak on social media and from the cricket fraternity. Cricketers like Sunil Gavaskar, Shane Warne and Graeme Swann did not agree with Vaughan and also asked the visitors to change the attitude towards turning tracks.
On the same turning track, R Ashwin brought his fifth century on day 3. He also took a total of 8 wickets in the second and for this he was chosen as 'Man of the Match'. In the post match presentation, Ashwin actually slammed Vaughan over 'poor pitch' remark.
Ashwin said, "This wicket was very different to the one we played on in the first game. This was a red soil wicket, the first one was a clay wicket. As much as people were predicting things from the outside, I thought the balls that was doing much wasn't getting wickets. It was the mind of the batsmen that got us wickets. I have been playing for years over here now and it takes pace and guile to do it."
Talking about his century on turning tracks, Ashwin said, "Keeping intent was very important. It is very important to put pressure on the bowlers because if you allow them to dictate terms, it is going to get easier. I just wanted to take it upon myself, and after I connected the first ball, I knew I got a hang of this wicket. I am someone who tries hard, and when things don't go my way, I try harder. Vikram Rathore (India's batting coach) has been very supportive. My batting was more about hands, to think tactically instead of technically. Ajinkya played a crucial role in telling me that I was overthinking it.